One of the biggest luxury auction houses Sotheby’s announced the opportunity of participating with cryptocurrency for the sale of “The Enigma” a rare 555.55-carat black diamond. The nearly 300-years old British-American corporation will accept Bitcoin(BTC), Ethereum(ETH) and USDC.
The auction house has stated that the choice to offer virtual currencies as the option of bidding and payment stems from the successful auction conducted in July last year. An unidentified bidder astonished all diamond connoisseurs when a single-lot sale in Hong Kong took place and the rare 101.38-carat diamond “The Key 10138” was paid in bitcoin equivalent to $12.3 million.
According to Sotheby’s representatives, the upcoming auction is the continuation of efforts aiming at establishing leadership within the robust cryptocurrency community and the luxury services offered.
Currently, The Enigma is being displayed on tour with appearances in Los Angeles, Dubai and London. Coinbase will be handling the acquisition of the rare item if cryptocurrency is used.
Sotheby’s stated in a press release that it is extraordinarily unusual the occurrence of such kind and size of a diamond. It is assumed to have formed as a result of a meteoric impact or as a byproduct of a diamond-bearing asteroid colliding with planet Earth.
The corporation appears to have uncovered the crypto audience and is currently selling rare jewels to the newly rich. Although BTC and ETH were previously allowed in a diamond auction, USDC will be an additional inclusion.
Up to date, the record holder of the most pricey diamond auctioned is the Pink Star, collecting $71 million at an auction held in April 2017 at Sotheby’s. Another significant sale was the 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue, acquired for $50.6 million at a 2016 Christie’s auction.
The Enigma is expected to be auctioned off in a single-lot online auction during the first half of February.
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